WOMEN
who
have
had
infertility
treatment
in
Scotland
have
had
children
born
to
the
wrong
fathers
because
of
mistakes
at
IVF
clinics,
an
eminent
Scottish
gynaecologist
said
yesterday.

The
admission
comes
in
the
wake
of
a
case
in
the
United
States
that
highlighted
legal
and
ethical
dilemmas
surrounding
advances
in
medical
science.

Susan
Buchweitz,
a
Californian
who
gave
birth
at
the
age
of
48,
won
£550,000
in
damages
this
week
from
a
clinic
that
implanted
the
wrong
embryo
in
her
womb.
The
intended
recipients,
an
unidentified
married
couple,
are
suing
for
custody
of
the
child,
who
is
now
three.

The
president
of
the
British
Fertility
Society,
Dr
John
Mills,
a
gynaecologist
since
1968
and
lecturer
at
St
Andrews
University,
said
he
was
aware
of
similar
cases
in
this
country
but
added
that
patients
generally
took
the
news
"extremely
well".

In
the
Buchweitz
case,
the
clinic
allegedly
realised
what
had
happened
within
minutes,
but
decided
to
keep
the
mistake
a
secret.

An
anonymous
tip-off
to
the
Medical
Board
of
California
led
to
all
parties
finding
out
the
truth.

Dr
Mills
said
he
understood
the
distress
caused
by
errors
such
as
that
with
Ms
Buchweitz,
where
an
egg
fertilised
by
sperm
from
the
wrong
father
is
implanted
in
a
woman’s
womb.
"It’s
very,
very
hurtful.
But
it’s
only
in
very
few
cases
that
this
has
happened
[here]
and
the
various
people
in
the
case
have
been
told,"
he
said.

"We
acknowledge
a
child
will
have
a
need
to
know
who
his
parents
were.
If
there’s
been
a
mistake
it
is
very
wise
that
all
the
adults
involved
know
about
it
so,
when
a
suitable
time
comes,
an
approach
can
be
made
to
the
child.

"In
general
terms,
duplicity
and
deceit
tend
to
lead
to
more
trouble
at
the
end
of
the
day."

Dr
Mills
said
parents
were
generally
quite
understanding.

"I’ve
been
around
for
quite
a
long
time
and
have
been
aware
of
mistakes
occurring
-
partly
because
of
the
positions
I’ve
held
when
people
let
me
know
if
mistakes
occur.
Patients
take
it
extremely
well,
very
well
indeed.
About
one
in
ten
of
everyone
born
has
got
it
[the
identity
of
their
father]
wrong
anyway
and
there
are
other
children
who,
for
whatever
reason,
can
never
know
their
father."

He
defended
IVF
treatment,
but
said
"mistakes
can
result
in
medicine
at
any
time".

He
said:
"IVF
has
become
a
highly
effective
treatment
and
a
very
common
one.
The
number
of
mistakes
is
very,
very
small.

"Clearly,
society
wishes
there
to
be
no
mistakes
at
all,
but
medicine
isn’t
like
that.
When
you
get
to
this
sort
of
thing,
it
becomes
terribly
emotive."

In
the
US
case,
the
married
couple
are
seeking
permanent
custody
of
the
boy.
A
family-court
judge
has
granted
Ms
Buchweitz
temporary
custody
and
given
the
husband,
as
the
biological
father,
twice-weekly
custody.
The
issue
of
how
the
couple
and
Ms
Buchweitz
will
divide
his
care
in
the
future
is
to
be
decided
in
October.

Ms
Buchweitz
said:
"There
is
no
psychology
book
that
says
how
to
do
this.
They
[the
couple]
don’t
accept
me
as
my
son’s
mother,
and
that
hurts."

Ms
Buchweitz,
who
is
single,
had
intended
to
become
pregnant
using
anonymous
egg
and
sperm
donors.
The
medical
staff
involved
in
her
treatment
-
Dr
Steven
Katz
and
embryologist
Imam
El-Danasouri
-
are
said
not
to
have
told
her
of
the
mix-up
because
they
feared
she
would
have
an
abortion
and
probably
would
not
be
able
to
have
another
child,
given
her
age.

They
also
predicted
that
the
couple
would
sue
for
custody.

A
spokesman
for
the
Catholic
Church
in
Scotland
said:
"This
case
has
many
losers,
but
the
real
victim
is
the
child.
For
three
decades
the
Catholic
Church
has
pointed
out
to
scientists
that
procedures
which
are
technically
possible
are
not
necessarily
morally
ethical.

"The
whole
IVF
business
involves
the
destruction
of
countless
unwanted
embryos,
and
in
this
case,
even
an
embryo
which
has
been
allowed
to
come
to
term
is
facing
a
nightmarish
start
to
life."

Dr
Katz,
writing
about
ethics
in
general
in
a
medical
journal
last
year,
said:
"Science
can
move
ahead
very
quickly.
However,
ethical
standards
don’t
often
develop
as
rapidly."